This invention relates generally to a performance enhancing and force absorbing dental appliance for use by athletes, and more particularly to such an appliance that spaces apart the teeth to absorb shock and clenching stress, to space apart the anterior teeth of the lower and upper jaws to facilitate breathing and speech, to lessen condyle pressure, force and impact upon the cartilage and temporomandibular joints, the arteries and the nerves, and to further increase body muscular strength and endurance.
Almost all athletes, such as body builders, weight lifters, baseball batters, golfers, football players, hockey players and bowlers, clench their teeth during exertion which results in hundreds of pounds of compressed force exerted from the lower jaw onto the upper jaw. This clenching force is unevenly transmitted through the jaw structure into the connective tissues and muscles of the lower jaw and further into the neck and back. This can result in headaches, muscle spasms, damage to teeth, injury to the temporomandibular joint, and pain in the jaw. Furthermore, clenching the teeth makes breathing more difficult during physical exercise and endurance when breathing is most important.
There is a need for a performance enhancing and force absorbing dental appliance for the mouth of an athlete which will absorb shock and clenching stress otherwise transferred from the connective tissues, the muscles and lower jaw to the upper jaw, neck and back, will space apart the anterior teeth of the lower jaw from the anterior teeth of the upper jaw to facilitate breathing and speech, and will lessen condyle pressure, force and impact upon the cartilage, and temporomandibular joints, arteries and the nerves.